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Mimi Soltysik

(Redirected from Emidio Soltysik)

Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik (/ˌsɒlˈtɪsɪk/ soll-TISS-ik;[1] October 30, 1974 – June 28, 2020) was an American socialist political activist for the Socialist Party USA. He was the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election alongside Angela Nicole Walker, who was the party's vice-presidential nominee.

Mimi Soltysik
National Co-Chair of the
Socialist Party USA
In office
October 26, 2013 – October 18, 2015
Serving with Stephanie Cholensky
Preceded byBilly Wharton
Succeeded byPat Noble
National Vice Chair of the
Socialist Party USA
In office
October 15, 2011 – October 26, 2013
Serving with Stephanie Gussin
Preceded byJim Sanders
Succeeded byJohn Strinka
State Chair of the
Socialist Party of California
In office
June 25, 2011 – February 1, 2017
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byLynn Lomibao & Amanda Riggle (as State Co-Chairs)
Personal details
Born
Emidio Soltysik

(1974-10-30)October 30, 1974
Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 28, 2020(2020-06-28) (aged 45)
California, U.S.
Political partySocialist
SpouseLynn Lomibao
Alma materTroy University
OccupationPolitical activist

From October 2013 to October 2015, Soltysik served as national co-chair of the Socialist Party USA. Prior to that, he served as national vice chair from 2011 to 2013. Soltysik also served as state chair of the Socialist Party of California from its chartering in 2011 to 2017.

Personal life edit

Soltysik was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. After high school, Soltysik became a professional musician until his mid-thirties.[2][3] Speaking of that period, he said in an interview: "I was incredibly self destructive, self absorbed, and almost entirely focused on instant gratification. By the time I reached my early 30s, I felt as if I had bottomed out. Substance abuse had taken a heavy toll on my health, both physically and mentally, and I found myself in a position where I was essentially starting from scratch."[4]

Soltysik then returned to higher education and graduated from Troy University and then went on to earn an MPA degree at California State University, Northridge.[5] He later said "I came to the conclusion that, if the first half of my life was spent tearing humanity down, the second half of my life would be dedicated to making a substantive difference." On June 28, 2020, Soltysik died after a prolonged struggle with liver cancer.[6]

Political career edit

Soltysik was elected as the male co-chair of the Socialist Party USA for the 2013–2015 term at the party's 2013 national convention.[7] He was also the chair of the Socialist Party of California.[8]

In 2014, Soltysik was one of eight candidates in the primary for California's 62nd State Assembly district.[9] Under California's nonpartisan blanket primary system, the top two candidates from the primary, regardless of party, advance to the general election.[9] Soltysik finished in 7th place with 2.5% of the vote.[10]

In October 2015, Soltysik filed a Federal lawsuit[11] against the California Secretary of State because he had been required to list "Party Preference: None" on the 2014 primary ballot; the California election law allows candidates to list only a party preference of a qualified party or "None" on the ballot, and the Socialist Party was not a qualified party in California.[12]

In April 2016, Soltysik was interviewed on CNBC regarding growing support for socialism in the United States.[13]

2016 presidential campaign edit

Emidio Soltysik For President 2016
CampaignU.S. presidential election, 2016
CandidateMimi Soltysik
presidential nominee
Angela Walker
vice presidential nominee
AffiliationSocialist Party
StatusAnnounced October 17, 2015 Lost Election November 8, 2016
Headquarters11713 Avon Way #15, Los Angeles, CA 90066
Website
www.rev16.us[dead link]
 
Mimi Soltysik and Angela Walker

On October 17, 2015, Soltysik announced he was running for president, and the Socialist Party USA formally nominated him as their candidate, with Angela Walker as his running mate, at their November 2015 conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[14] The party did not have automatic ballot access in any state,[15] although Soltysik and Walker were on the ballot in Colorado, Michigan, and the U.S. overseas territory of Guam.[16]

Soltysik differentiated himself from other socialist candidates, in that he intended to overthrow capitalism rather than reform it, and sought to build a new system from the "bottom up." He advocated for the abolition of most governmental organizations, such as the CIA, NSA, and NATO. When asked how the United States would defend itself if all these organizations were eliminated, he responded that he believes every threat the US faces is created by their foreign policy.[17] He also believes that one cannot serve as president "without becoming a war criminal" and suggested his first course of action upon taking office would be to "fire ourselves on the first day."[18][19][20]

Soltysik made several campaign stops, including in Denver[21] and Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Flint, Michigan[22], primarily focusing on meeting with and building local networks of community activists.[23]

While campaigning, Soltysik often spoke critically of his political opponent Bernie Sanders, telling the Los Angeles Times that "[Sanders] has had a long history of support for war, and he has also had a healthy support for Israel, which we tend to see as an apartheid state," although he did acknowledge that Sanders' campaign offered "opportunities to introduce different voices into the dialogue."[18][19][21]

The Soltysik/Walker campaign received endorsements from multiple socialist and progressive organizations, including Anarcha-transfeminism,[24] the Red Party,[25] and Socialist Action[26]

Ballot Access edit

In June 2016, the campaign filed for ballot access in the state of Illinois. Under Illinois law, 25,000 valid signatures are required to secure ballot access for independent and non-qualified alternative parties. However, this requirement is only enforced if a petition's validity is challenged by an Illinois voter. The Soltysik-Walker campaign, which submitted one signature, was challenged by "dissident" Green Party member Rob Sherman, who had also challenged the Socialist Party, Constitution Party and Justice Party petitions in 2012. Because the Soltysik campaign was found to have an insufficient number of signatures, it was removed from the Illinois ballot.[27] On July 28, 2016, the Michigan chapter of the Natural Law Party nominated Soltysik-Walker and gave the ticket its first ballot line in 2016.[28] In September 2016, the campaign became the only alternative party to be listed on the ballot in Guam.[29]

Results edit

The Soltysik/Walker ticket received approximately 2,700[a] total votes including write-ins.[16][30] He also won 4.22% of the vote in Guam's presidential straw poll.[31][32]

Soltysik/Walker finished in seventh place with 2,209 votes in Michigan, behind other balloted candidates and write-in Evan McMullin. The ticket earned 271 votes in Colorado, 21st place out of a crowded field of 22 on the ballot.

State or Territory Vote total On Ballot or Write-in
Colorado 271 On Ballot
Guam[b] (1,357) On Ballot
Indiana 57 Write-in
Michigan 2,209 On Ballot
New York 36 Write-in
Texas 72 Write-in
Wisconsin 33 Write-in
Scattering 15 Write-Ins
Total 2,693 (4,050)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Protect the Slangaroo: SPUSA 2016 Presidential Candidate Mimi Soltysik Speaks about the Slangaroo". YouTube. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  2. ^ "An Interview With Mimi Soltysik, 1974-2020". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  3. ^ Spitznagel, Eric (February 26, 2013). "How Some Hate Mail Led Me Down the Socialist Musician Wormhole". MTV Hive. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  4. ^ "Interview with Mimi Soltysik, Candidate for the Socialist Party Nomination for President - New Politics". newpol.org. Hampton Institute.
  5. ^ "Mimi for California State Assembly, 62nd District". 14 January 2014. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  6. ^ Winger, Richard (June 28, 2020). "Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik Dies". Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  7. ^ "2013 Socialist Party USA National Convention". Socialist Party USA. Archived from the original on 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  8. ^ "Ready to Kick Ass?". Socialist Party of California. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  9. ^ a b Dryden, Carley (2014-06-01). "Eight candidates vying for Steven Bradford's 62nd Assembly District seat". Daily Breeze. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  10. ^ "Statewide Direct Primary Election - Statement of Vote, June 3, 2014: State Assemblymember by District" (PDF). California Secretary of State. p. 99. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  11. ^ Complaint, Soltysik v. Padilla Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, No. 2:15-cv-7916 (C.D. Cal. filed Oct. 8, 2015).
  12. ^ Winger, Richard (2015-10-08). "Two Socialist Party Candidates Sue California to Have Party Label on Ballot". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  13. ^ "Why is there a growing support for socialism?". CNBC. April 14, 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  14. ^ Winger, Richard (2015-10-17). "Socialist Party National Ticket Nominated". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  15. ^ Winger, Richard (2015-08-07). "Socialist Party Sets National Convention". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  16. ^ a b "Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  17. ^ Hill, Mark (November 3, 2016). "We Talk To 3 (Fringe) Alternative Presidential Candidates". Cracked (Interview). Interviewed by Mark Hill. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Halper, Evan (May 25, 2016). "Bernie Sanders is a socialist? Some on the far left say sellout is more like it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  19. ^ a b Segneri, A.J. (February 15, 2016). "Interview: Bernie Sanders Isn't The Only 'Socialist' Running for President". Independent Voter Network. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  20. ^ Douglas-Bowers, Devon; Jenkins, Colin (July 30, 2015). "Socialism and Electoral Politics in the US: An Interview with Mimi Soltysik". The Hampton Institute. Archived from the original on February 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  21. ^ a b Pearl, Mike (March 18, 2016). "Meet the Socialist Running for President in the Shadow of Bernie Sanders". Vice. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  22. ^ Gibbons, Lauren (September 13, 2016). "Socialist Party presidential candidate Mimi Soltysik to appear in Ann Arbor, Flint". MLive.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  23. ^ "Soltysik/Walker 2016 Events in Pennsylvania". Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  24. ^ "Anarcha-transfeminism endorsement". Facebook. Anarcha-transfeminism. August 1, 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  25. ^ "Vote Soltysik!". red-party.com. January 17, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  26. ^ Mackler, Jeff (October 17, 2016). "The Class Line in Elections Is the Principled Issue". Left Voice. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  27. ^ Winger, Richard. "Dissident Illinois Green Rob Sherman Files Challenges to Constitution Party and Socialist Party Petitions". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  28. ^ Winger, Richard (August 1, 2016). "Natural Law Party of Michigan Nominates Socialist Party National Ticket". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  29. ^ Winger, Richard (September 25, 2016). "Socialist Party is Only Party, Besides Republicans and Democrats, to File for Guam Advisory Presidential Vote". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  30. ^ "2016 Presidential General Election Results". US Election Atlas. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  31. ^ "2016 Guam General Election: Unofficial", Post Guam, November 9, 2016
  32. ^ Dana Williams (November 9, 2016), "Guam, which has historically predicted election winner, picks Clinton", Pacific Daily News, Guam – via USA Today

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ The Federal Election Commission says it was 2,693 votes, but US Election Atlas says 2,705 votes
  2. ^ As a territory, Guam does not have any electoral college votes and is thus not counted in the official Federal Election Commission totals

External links edit

Mimi Soltysik on Facebook

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